
Frontline Socialist Party’s Duminda Nagamuwa has accused the National People’s Power (NPP) of reverting to “deal politics” after their push for a secret ballot in the Colombo Mayor vote. He claims the secrecy signals a hidden agreement and contradicts the NPP’s own rhetoric on political transparency and new political culture.
The Frontline Socialist Party has raised serious concerns over the National People’s Power (NPP)’s demand for a secret ballot to elect the new Mayor of Colombo. Duminda Nagamuwa, a senior executive member of the party, criticized the move, calling it a betrayal of the “new political culture” the NPP claims to represent.
Nagamuwa suggested that the call for a secret ballot implies there is a behind-the-scenes agreement that cannot be openly supported. “If there’s nothing to hide, then there’s no need for secrecy. A public vote would make sense if transparency truly mattered,” he said.
He pointed out that the secrecy surrounding the vote undermines the NPP’s own platform of clean and accountable politics. “If those casting votes can’t disclose who they’re voting for, that clearly suggests a covert alliance. This entire process contradicts their public messaging,” he added.
Nagamuwa concluded that by demanding a secret ballot, the NPP is “challenging the very discourse on political transformation they brought into Parliament.” According to him, this is nothing less than a revival of backroom, deal-driven politics in Sri Lanka’s local governance.